


Cross me

by withered



Series: Who's been lovin' you good? [45]
Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Bucky is murdery, Established Relationship, M/M, Not Team Captain America Friendly, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Secret Relationship, Tony's a little shit, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 09:37:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19461292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withered/pseuds/withered
Summary: “Is there a reason he’s…”“Glaring?” Tony supplies above a stage whisper.“Attempting to murder me with his face?” Tiberius corrects in a hiss that he’s doing an excellent job of disguising as a politely sneering whisper.Of course, with Super Soldier hearing, Barnes has no problem replying to the accusation with frank finality, “It’s just my face.”Or, in which Tony accidentally goes on a date, and Bucky does not approve.





	Cross me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ossifrage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ossifrage/gifts).



It was a favor; a small one.

It’s subtle and doesn’t ask much, but Tony’s grateful. Really. And thankful, _so thankful_. And he doesn’t want to toot his own horn, but Tony Stark being grateful and thankful to you comes with some serious perks.

No one can ever accuse him of being ungenerous.

In fact, quite the opposite.

It can be said his generosity is occasionally without a lack of boundaries which. _He’s working on it._ He may have unceremoniously adopted several teenage geniuses, but that’s not why he’s on trial here, oh no. Because as healing as it is to raise kids with the love, attention, and support he didn’t get as a child from his own father, this particular favor and the subsequent rewards are entirely of a selfish variety altogether.

What?

Tony never claimed to be a saint.

“Is there a reason he’s…”

“Glaring?” Tony supplies above a stage whisper.

“Attempting to murder me with his face?” Tiberius corrects in a hiss that he’s doing an excellent job of disguising as a politely sneering whisper.

Of course, with Super Soldier hearing, Bucky has no problem replying to the accusation with frank finality, “It’s just my face.”

And Tony has never been more delighted to be alive until this very moment. “It’s just his face,” he echoes in agreement, a shit-eating grin on his face no matter how hard he tries to soften it into a demure sort of smile.

“Well,” Tiberius begins expectantly, raising his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation that Tony’s not going to give until it’s specifically asked of him. He so hates speaking in innuendo with assholes who willfully misunderstand and misinterpret what he's saying, and so gleeful in misconstruing the meanings.

Pointedly, Tony compliments the sound of the steak on the menu before subsequently telling the waiter with a thumb over his shoulder to where Bucky is sitting that, “He’ll have the same, medium-rare.”

“Sir?”

“He’s not much of a talker,” Tony explains, flippant, and if the waiter is concerned that what had appeared to be a romantic date has been ambushed by a man in full White Wolf regalia – in full black, despite the codename – he’s too well-trained to say anything but agree with a bow of, “Yes, sir.”

Turning back to Tiberius with a smile like ice wouldn’t melt in his mouth, Tony prods, “You were saying?”

_“What is he doing here?”_

Ah, that didn’t take long at all. Though, Tony supposes he can’t fault Tiberius for it. He never did like getting caught off guard, least of all in public, and with so many cameras blinking at them from the window overlooking the street. Tsk, tsk, tsk; Ty’s always had a bit of a temper.

“Bucky is a little…overprotective,” Tony chooses to settle on.

“Really,” is Ty’s sarcastic reply. “The same man who killed your parents is _overprotective?_ ”

“He has a lot to make up for,” Tony dismisses easily, like water rolling off a duck’s back. It had taken the better half of two years to get to that point, and while Tony is much more subdued in the accomplishment of that feat, he doesn’t mind flaunting it every now and then. Being the bigger person is strangely freeing once you’ve accepted what is and isn’t your burden to carry anymore. “I could never forgive Rogers for the betrayal of hiding it from me, but Bucky isn’t without redemption especially since it’s something he’s asked for.”

“You had Captain America groveling,” and while it had been a glorious experience, it had soured with the knowledge that Rogers hadn’t meant it nearly enough if it meant he couldn’t come back to the United States, and still hadn’t understood _how he was wrong_ in the first place.

And now the whole thing is tainted with Ty’s approval of it. Damn it, Tony needs to shower off the _ick_ from it all as soon as he gets home.

“And the Winter Soldier,” Tiberius begins anew, expression devious and light as he laughs in kind, “standing watch like a guard dog.”

“Woof,” Bucky deadpans and despite how ridiculous it is, no matter how unbothered Tiberius tried to be, he startles enough that the cutlery rattles on the table.

Tony’s having the time of his goddamn life, and it’s about to get better: “Actually,” he says, tone leading and coy, “overprotective is perhaps the wrong word.”

“Oh, _you think_?” And Tiberius tries not to sound a little hysterical except Bucky is testing the sharpness of the knives at the table. Speaking loud enough for them to hear, Bucky tells the waiter, “It’s fine, I have my own.”

Still feigning ignorance to Tiberius discomfort, Tony hums and says, “Jealous, would be more accurate.”

“Jealous,” is the confused echo.

“Can’t say I blame him," he shrugs in a _what can you do_ way. "Get a taste of Tony Stark and you’re never the same again – you know how it is, don’t you?” he quips his brow in kind because Tony knows this game – knows that even with the drama of the past three years with the Accords, the collapse of the original Avengers line-up, the estimation of the Titan’s landfall in the next five years and the Rogues’ return, that Stark Industries has proven to be bulletproof – flying ever higher and taking the world with it.

While in contrast, Tiberius’ business is sinking faster than a rock, and this is all just an attempt of Ty’s to get a finger in the pie.

Tony supposes his former childhood friend had finally seen the end of the naïve investment Tony had given Tiberius a few months after the "car accident" that made Tony an orphan and millionaire in one swoop and was trying to get a foot in the door for another cash injection.

Maybe Ty would pretend to be in love with Tony again, and maybe Ty would go all the way: propose marriage, bind them together, and trap Tony to him as Ty had done to Tony with Obie, this time with Ty holding the keys to Tony’s freedom as Obie once had. Ironic, how Ty had called Tony out for being bad at money at that age that he'd been stuck with Obie as a punishment, and now it was the other way around.

The flush on Ty's face is blood red, but just as quickly, it drains, and there’s another clatter of cutlery as he tugs at his tie. “You and Barnes -?”

“Oh, briefly,” Tony waves off, easy as anything. “Hate sex takes on a whole new thing really when you’ve got as much baggage with one another as we do.”

“So, it was just…a sex thing?”

Tony smiles politely and says, like he’s talking to a child, “Refractory periods are a thing you know, and while I’m flattered at the implication, I’m on the wrong side of forty. Though, Bucky on the other hand…" He trails, doesn't have to fake the heat that presses into his neck. "Anyway, we had time to talk between...everything. It was an agreeable relationship.”

Visibly, Tiberius gulps. “So, why did you...break up?"

“Like I said, he’s jealous,” and Tony throws a look over his shoulder at Bucky which would be accusatory if it weren’t amused. He's doing a wonderful job of looking appropriately murderous while eating his soup.

And by the time Tony’s faced forward again, Tiberius is white as a sheet.

Oh, Bucky pulled the carving-into-the-bread move with the spoon, apparently, he's done that to people. It's honestly such an underrated fear tactic, Tony’s impressed Tiberius hasn’t wet himself yet.

“But, what can you do?” Tony continues carelessly, swirling his glass. “Ever since I’ve started sitting at Accords meetings, the all-powerful They wanted an increased security detail on me, and who better than him?”

Clearing his throat, though really, it just sounded like Ty was trying not to choke, he finally managed to ask, “Isn’t it…difficult having your…ex-boyfriend protect you?”

“I thought it would be,” Tony admits with a magnanimous sigh, “but Pepper is my CEO, and we get along great.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Speaking of,” Tony interjects, raising his brow, “wasn’t this supposed to be a lunch meeting for a future collaboration? Shouldn’t Pep be here?” Feigning curiosity as he takes in their environment – as if for the first time noticing it – Tony observes, “Alone together in a romantic establishment like this? Why, Ty, I had no idea -"

Bucky has been trained to stalk even predators themselves so when he makes it known that he’s getting up, the legs of his chair scraping loudly on the floor, it's the equivalent of a warning shot, and Tiberius can’t get up and out fast enough. His own chair topples and almost fell over had Barnes not set it to rights and replaced Tiberius across from Tony.

The restaurant is quiet, and even the cameras outside stop clicking in united paralyzing fear.

“I don’t know if I like the favors you ask," Bucky drawls.

Tony snorts. “Liar.”

“You owe me,” he says instead, looking impressively huge with his arms crossed, head tilted to the side to show off the cut of his jaw and the delicious curve of his lip. Tony wants to crawl into his lap and sink his teeth into it.

“I do, and you know how generous I can be,” Tony reminds with a wink before signaling the waiter and declaring, “My ex-boyfriend will have his food to go, thanks.” 

The waiter is quick to agree to this sentiment and disappears as the man across from him shoots Tony a look that is immediately followed by a fond roll of his eyes. “Darlin’, you have to stop introducing me to people like that.”

“What,” Tony defends, all bright mischievous eyes and a flick of a tongue that speaks of all the rewards he's going to get for this little outing, “you are my ex-boyfriend.”

“I’m your husband.”

“I know that," Tony says, wiggling his brow. "But he didn’t.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I've gotten into a bit of a Thing over fake-dating tropes, and while I haven't done an official one for winteriron, I did want a different take - hence the fake-ex-dating AU that no one asked for (except Grey because her influence is awful). 
> 
> Also, this fic makes it officially 100k words for the series on top of being the 45th entry, so thank you guys so much for the support!
> 
> [As always](https://everything-withered.tumblr.com)


End file.
